Abstract Pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) plays a crucial role in regulating the growth and development of livestock and poultry. Our previous study identified that PLAG1 was associated with backfat thickness (BF) in pigs by genome-wide association study (GWAS), suggesting a potential regulatory effect on adipocytes. To further investigate the relationship between PLAG1 gene and adipocytes, 3T3-L1 cells was used as a research model and PLAG1 conservation was analyzed. The effects of PLAG1 gene overexpression on cell proliferation and differentiation were examined using qRT-PCR, CCK-8 assays, flow cytometry, and Oil Red O staining. Results revealed high conservation of the PLAG1 gene, with sequence similarity among different species ranging from 80% to 92%. qRT-PCR analysis showed that, compared with the control group, the expression of proliferation-related genes in 3T3-L1 cells was extremely significantly increased following PLAG1 overexpression (P<0.01). CCK-8 assays showed that PLAG1 overexpression extremely significantly enhanced cell viability (P<0.01). Flow cytometry demonstrated a significant increase in the number of cells in the S phase following PLAG1 overexpression (P<0.05). Furthermore, Oil Red O staining indicated that the expression of adipogenic differentiation-related genes was significantly decreased after PLAG1 overexpression (P<0.05), accompanied by a extremely significant reduction in lipid droplet formation (P<0.01). In summary, PLAG1 overexpression promoted the proliferation of 3T3-L1 cells while inhibiting their differentiation, indicating that PLAG1 gene might play a regulatory role in the proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes. This study provides a theoretical foundation for further investigation of the molecular mechanisms through which the PLAG1 gene regulates fat deposition in pigs.
WU Zi-Yi,BAI Li-Yao,WU Jia-Hao, et al. Effects of Overexpression of Porcine (Sus Scrofa) PLAG1 Gene on Proliferation and Differentiation of 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes[J]. 农业生物技术学报, 2025, 33(4): 782-791.
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